[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

March 3



PAKISTAN:

Court awards death penalty in murder case


An additional district and sessions court awarded death sentence to a man in a 
murder case on Thursday.

The prosecution told the court that accused Mohsin Ali, a resident of Chak 90, 
had gunned down his opponent Saeed Ahmad over a business dispute.

After hearing the arguments, the judge awarded death sentence to the accused 
along with a fine of Rs1,000,000 as compensation money. The culprit was sent to 
district Jail Sargodha.

Earlier in February 2017, a court awarded death sentence to an accused for his 
involvement in a murder case in Sargodha. The judgment was announced by 
Additional District and Sessions Judge Chaudhary Muhammad Tariq. Accused Hassan 
Sher, resident of Jabbi village, Tehsil Johrabad, had gunned down a man 
Munawwar Shahzad, S/o Muhammad Azam, over a petty dispute in July 2015.

Similarly on January 10, 2017, Additional District and Sessions Judge Muhammad 
Nadeem Ansari awarded death sentences to three suspects for their involvement 
in quadruple murder case in Sialkot.

(source: Express News)






JAPAN:

Death penalty sought for man charged with killing 5 on Awaji Island


Prosecutors on Friday demanded the death penalty for a 42-year-old man charged 
with killing 5 neighbors on Awaji Island in western Japan in 2015.

Tatsuhiko Hirano was "mentally competent to be held responsible for his 
actions," the prosecutors said at the Kobe District Court, refuting claims by 
his lawyers, who in seeking an acquittal or a lesser punishment has said he was 
unable to make normal decisions because of a psychotropic drug he had been 
taking.

Doctors who conducted psychiatric tests on Hirano have told the court that 
Hirano's personality was "the same as usual" at the time of the murders.

Hirano is accused of fatally stabbing 5 neighbors with a knife in 2 separate 
homes in Sumoto, Hyogo Prefecture, on March 9, 2015. The victims were 3 women 
and 2 men aged between 59 and 84.

He was committed to hospital in 2005 and 2010 after being judged by local 
authorities to be a danger to the public due to his mental illness.

At the 1st hearing of his trial in February, Hirano said, "This is clearly a 
case of false accusation plotted by 'operatives' who destroyed my brain and 
forced me to commit the murders."

On Friday, the prosecutors, in seeking capital punishment, said they have taken 
"extremely seriously the fact that he took the lives of five people who did 
nothing wrong."

The prosecutors also highlighted the brutality of the case, pointing to the 
numerous stab wounds seen on the victims. The murder was committed "based on a 
strong intent to kill," they said.

They also said the influence of the psychotropic drug the defendant had been 
using for a long time was "limited."

(source: mainichi.jp)


**********************


Court upholds acquittal for man facing gallows for 2002 double murder in Osaka


The Osaka High Court on Thursday upheld a lower court's acquittal of a man 
previously sentenced to death for murdering his daughter-in-law and her son 
before setting fire to their Osaka apartment in 2002.

Takemitsu Mori, a 59-year-old prison guard on administrative leave, was 
acquitted by the Osaka District Court in March 2012 after the Supreme Court 
ordered a retrial, repealing the high court's death sentence in a rare 
decision.

The focus of the case was what to make of the circumstantial evidence presented 
by the prosecutors while Mori consistently denied the charges, saying he had 
never entered the apartment.

Mori did not attend the trial because retrials at higher courts do not oblige 
defendants to be present.

Presiding Judge Shinichiro Fukuzaki rejected the prosecutor's claim that Mori's 
knowledge about the location of furniture in the apartment proved he had been 
there. The judge said the defendant could have learned the arrangement from 
conversations with family members after the incident.

Mori was arrested in November 2002, 7 months after Mayumi Mori, 28, and her 
1-year-old son Toma were found dead in their apartment in Osaka's Hirano Ward 
on April 14 that year. The woman was found strangled and her son drowned.

In April 2010, the Supreme Court rejected both the life sentence handed down by 
a district court and the death penalty by a high court, declaring that the 
court needed to see evidence proving that only the defendant could have 
committed the crime.

Following the Supreme Court ruling, the Osaka District Court found Mori not 
guilty, saying there was no evidence that proved he entered the apartment on 
the day of the incident.

In the latest examination at the high court, a DNA analysis was conducted on a 
dog harness that prosecutors alleged to be the murder weapon, but no link to 
Mori was found.

Prosecutors requested a review of the lower court's acquittal as saliva found 
on a cigarette butt discovered in a staircase at the apartment matched Mori's 
DNA and an eyewitness saw a car of the same type and color as Mori's near the 
apartment.

The defense counsel asked the court to reject the appeal, arguing that the 
court was presented with no credible evidence showing that the cigarette butt 
was discarded on the day of the incident.

(source: Japan Times)





BANGLADESH:

Kunio Hoshi killing verdict----An example of timely justice


In an exemplary show of timely disposal of a case, a Rangpur court on February 
28 awarded death penalties to 5 militants who were involved in the killing of 
Kunio Hoshi in 2015, a Japanese national who had been living in Bangladesh. 
Kunio was the 2nd foreigner in Bangladesh to be killed in the same week. The 
murders had created a sense of panic and insecurity, especially among 
foreigners, in a country that is known for its acceptance or diversity.

As the trial judge has declared, the murder of Hoshi was a bid to destabilise 
the country and instil communal hatred based on a perverse interpretation of 
religion. However, the subsequent arrest of the guilty and the resolution of 
the case is a laudable accomplishment of the law enforcement agencies and the 
judiciary.

We applaud the administration in their drive to root out militancy; surely this 
brings a much awaited sense of relief, trust and security for the foreigners 
who choose to live or work in Bangladesh. We however feel it necessary to 
mention that a coordinated role of the security and intelligence forces is 
required to curb the problem at its roots. The initial reluctance of the 
government to accept that there was indeed growing militancy in the country, 
with almost certain foreign ideological links if not sponsorship, instead of 
assuring the citizens, showed a lack of judiciousness in dealing with the 
issues. We await a similar disposal of the other cases of militancy under 
investigation in a prioritised, swift and deliberate fashion. We are surely on 
the right track to gain back lost confidence.

(source: Editorial, The Daily Star)

***************

Natore court sentences man to death for murdering wife


A Natore court has awarded the death penalty to a man, who had murdered his 
wife for dowry 3 months after the marriage.

Convict Kajal Kumar Sarkar, 22, has been also fined by Tk 100,000, said 
Prosecutor Shahjahan Kabir.

On Thursday, Judge Rezaul Karim of the district's Women and Children Repression 
Prevention Tribunal delivered the verdict in the 2015 murder, reports 
bdnews24.com.

On Oct 12 that year, the convict strangled his wife Mina Rani to death for 
dowry.

Sarkar was arrested the next day after the victim's father started a case.

(source: Financial Express)






MALAYSIA:

2 Perlis immigration officers sent to the gallows for Bangladeshi's murder


The High Court here today sentenced two Immigration Department officers in the 
state to death for the murder of a Bangladeshi man in October 2014.

Judicial Commissioner Abu Bakar Katar, in handing out the sentence to Mohd 
Aminnudin Mohd Yasin and Zuhairul Effendy Zualkafli, both 35, said the court 
found that the defence has failed to raise reasonable doubt against the 
prosecution's case.

The duo were found guilty of causing the death of illegal immigrant Abu Bakar 
Siddiqe at the pantry room of state Immigration Department headquarters between 
10pm and 11pm on Oct 29, 2014.

They were jointly charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code which carries a 
mandatory death penalty upon conviction.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Badius Zaman Ahmad prosecuted, while lawyer 
Rahamatullah Baharudeen represented both accused.

(source: New Straits Times)